Ohio Church Vandalized Ahead Of Drag Story Hour

Cleveland’s Fox affiliate reports:

A local church says it was vandalized on Friday ahead of its drag show brunch and story hour planned for April 1. The Community Church of Chesterland said in a press release that its sign was destroyed by Molotov cocktails leaving minimal damage to the church, which was unoccupied at the time, and no injuries. “Despite the minimal damage, the church is taking extraordinary security precautions ahead of the planned protest scheduled for April 1 and services will resume as scheduled,” the church said.

Cleveland.com reports:

The Proud Boys, an all-male, neo-fascist organization, last week circulated notices encouraging protests at a sold-out drag brunch, to take place Saturday at Element 41 in Chardon, sponsored by the community church. This incident follows the violent protests at a drag story time in Wadsworth this month. Neo Nazi’s clashed with LGTBQ+ supporters while drag queens read stories to attendees.  The church hopes to raise $10,000 to pay for extra security measures that include security guards and barriers. Tickets for the Drag Story Hour are free, but must be secured in advance.

The group reported minimal damage was done, but the church’s sign was destroyed. https://t.co/bZO8B8L2qj has reached out to police on the investigation. https://t.co/GcQyQnxCA5

— clevelanddotcom (@clevelanddotcom) March 27, 2023